How to Plant Fuchsia as a Shrub

By Elton Dunn; Updated September 21, 2017

While fuchsia is most commonly grown as a trailing or container plant, gardeners in subtropical areas with mild winters (USDA hardiness zones 10 and 11) can enjoy this plant as a shrub. Fuchsia's two-toned flowers come in hues of purple, red and white. There are more than 3,000 cultivars of fuchsia, notes Clemson University; they fall into either upright or trailing types. Choose an upright fuchsia for planting as a shrub, and plant your fuchsia in the spring.

Select a site that offers your fuchsia shrub part sun. Fuchsia shrubs can grow up to 3 feet tall and spread up to 1 foot wide. They dislike heat and humidity, so prefer morning sun or part sun.

Dig a hole that's twice the size of your fuchsia plant's root ball. Remove rocks and roots from the hole. Jab your shovel at the bottom of the hole to roughen the ground, which makes it easier for the shrub to adapt to planting.

Remove your fuchsia from its container. Loosen the root ball by squeezing it with your fingers. Gently unwind and untangle the roots before planting, because planting with tangled roots can choke your shrub. When all the roots are free, place the plant in the hole at the same depth as it was planted in the container.

Backfill the hole with soil to plant your fuchsia. Gently firm the soil around the base of your shrub but don't press it down, because this can injure plant roots.

Water the newly planted fuchsia to compress the soil around the base of the shrub. Water until the ground becomes saturated.

Things You Will Need

Shovel

References

About the Author

A successful website writer since 1998, Elton Dunn has demonstrated experience with technology, information retrieval, usability and user experience, social media, cloud computing, and small business needs. Dunn holds a degree from UCSF and formerly worked as professional chef. Dunn has ghostwritten thousands of blog posts, newsletter articles, website copy, press releases and product descriptions. He specializes in developing informational articles on topics including food, nutrition, fitness, health and pets.